


A Little Detective Work

by dragon_temeraire



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Human Derek Hale, Humor, M/M, Roommates, Sheriff Stilinski Finds Out, Sheriff Stilinski Finds Out About Derek/Stiles Relationship, fake not dating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-10
Updated: 2018-11-10
Packaged: 2019-08-21 10:02:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16574366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragon_temeraire/pseuds/dragon_temeraire
Summary: Inviting the sheriff over for dinner leads to a mystery: what happened to Derek’s centerpiece?





	A Little Detective Work

**Author's Note:**

> Took me ages, but I finally finished a fic! This was inspired by a tumblr post I saw ages ago (and can’t find now), so elements of the story may be familiar to you.

 

 

“Let’s just keep it cool,” Stiles says, leaning back against the kitchen counter. “I never, like, officially came out to my dad, and while he might be fine with this in _theory_ , it’s another thing to see your son—”

“Stiles, it’s okay,” Derek cuts in reassuringly. “We’ve only been together for a month, it’s no big deal if you don’t want to tell him about us.”

And if he knew, his dad would probably tell him it’s a terrible idea to date his roommate. But Stiles could only hold off his attraction for so long, especially when it became obvious that Derek was interested in him, too. “Yep, still in that honeymoon phase,” Stiles jokes, winking. They’ve been spending a lot of time in Derek’s bigger, nicer bed, and he loves that he gets to fall asleep next to Derek every night.

“It’ll be less pressure for me, anyway, if he’s not meeting me as _the boyfriend_ ,” Derek says, then ducks down to rummage around under the sink. “We’ll all just have a nice meal together.” He makes a triumphant noise, then places a glass vase with a single fake flower on the table.

Stiles grins. “Trying to class this place up?” he asks teasingly.

“Nothing wrong with a nice centerpiece,” Derek says defensively, brushing a little dust off one of the petals.

Stiles impulsively darts around the table to wrap his arms around Derek, squeezing tight. “He’s going to like you, okay? You don’t have to worry.”

“Not if we don’t get the food done,” Derek says, nudging Stiles back toward the empty salad bowl, but Stiles doesn’t miss the way the tension has gone out of his shoulders.

“He should be here in about twenty minutes,” Stiles says, starting to dice the tomatoes. “Will you check on the lasagna?”

“Sure thing,” Derek says.

Stiles has him help finish the salad, too. Derek is really competent in the kitchen, and it’s weirdly appealing to watch him shred lettuce and slice peppers.

They manage to be done with everything before the sheriff knocks on the door, and Stiles playfully tweaks a few strands of Derek’s hair before he goes to answer it.

 

*

 

The dinner goes really well, at first.

Stiles’ dad asks the expected questions about his grades, friends he’s made, and how he’s enjoying college. Then he moves on to Derek, asking about his job—he works at the campus bookstore—his degree, and what his plans for the future are.

So, Stiles has been lulled into a fine state of complacency when his dad sets his fork down, and says curiously, “And how long have the two of you been dating?”

Stiles jolts a little in his seat. “What? Dad!” he says, immediately defensive. “We’re just roommates.”

“And good friends,” Derek adds in, shooting Stiles a concerned look.

The sheriff has a pretty good poker face, so Stiles isn’t sure how he’d take it if they actually admitted it under further questioning. But to his surprise, his dad just says, “Okay,” and moves on to other conversation.

Stiles even has a very brief emergency conference with Derek in the living room, deciding what they’ll say if the sheriff asks about any romantic prospects they have, since they’ve denied dating each other. But even though he lingers over dessert—Derek’s pie _is_ amazing—he only talks about the difficultly in training a new deputy, and about some of the hilariously poorly-planned crimes he’s dealt with in Beacon Hills.

And though he loves his dad, Stiles can’t help breathing a little sigh of relief once he’s finally out the door.

“I feel like that went okay,” he says to Derek, who’s staring oddly at the table.

“Hey,” Derek says, looking around the kitchen now. “I, uh, I think your dad took my centerpiece.”

Stiles helps him look, even ducking under the table in case it fell, but it’s nowhere to be found.

 

*

 

He gives his dad about a week, hoping for an awkward phone call where his dad admits to taking the little glass vase and single fake flower. But it doesn’t happen.

Which means Stiles has to make that awkward phone call himself.

“Look, I don’t want to levy false accusations,” Stiles says, slumping back on the couch, “but did you steal Derek’s centerpiece?”

“Well, I didn’t want to falsely accuse you of dating your roommate,” his dad says very seriously, “but the fact is, if you’d been sleeping in your own bed, you would have found that centerpiece under your pillow by now.”

“Oh my god,” Stiles says, shocked. “Dad, I swear I was going to tell you—”

Derek, a half a step into the living room, freezes and gives Stiles a worried look. Stiles just waves him over.

“Son, it’s okay,” his dad says, the pillar of calm that Stiles has always known him to be. “I understand that you might be hesitant to tell me about certain parts of your personal life, especially if the relationship is pretty new.”

That last part is said with a hint of a question. “It is,” Stiles confirms.

There’s a brief pause, and then his dad says, “Do you have feelings for him?”

“Yeah,” Stiles says, leaning against Derek’s shoulder. “I do.” He smiles when Derek’s arm comes around him. “And I think it’s probably mutual.”

“I’m glad,” his dad says quietly. “Sorry for playing that little trick, but I just had a hunch about the two of you, and figured it’d be an easy way to confirm it. And when you didn’t call me that night, wanting to know why the heck a vase was under your pillow, it gave me a chance to think about how I felt about you dating your roommate, who is also a man.”

“Bit of a change from all that Lydia talk in high school, huh?” Stiles says lightly, but there’s a nervous flutter in his stomach.

“It certainly is,” his dad says. “But that’s okay. I’m glad you’ve found someone who appreciates you, Stiles.”

“Thanks dad,” Stiles says, breathing a quiet sigh of relief. “Hey, out of curiosity, what made you think Derek and I were together?”

“A lot of things,” the sheriff says, sounding amused. “Derek kept touching you, on your back or shoulder or arm, and you didn’t really notice or seem to think anything of it. And the two of you kept sharing these _looks_ , and you kept standing so _close_ , and—”

Stiles laughs. “Okay, I get it.”

He talks with his dad a little while longer, and Derek patiently waits for him to hang up before saying, “He knows, huh?”

“Yeah,” Stiles says, leaning in to kiss Derek on the cheek and then on the lips. “Only took a little detective work to figure us out.”

“But everything’s okay?” Derek asks, a hand sweeping gently through Stiles’ hair.

“Yeah,” Stiles says, grinning. “As long as you don’t mind coming to family dinner next week.”

“Not at all,” Derek says, “since we don’t have to pretend we’re not dating this time.”

“Yeah, apparently my dad wasn’t fooled for a second. I think being real boyfriends is something we’re better at,” Stiles says happily, then pulls Derek into another kiss.

 

*

 

(They retrieve the vase from under Stiles’ pillow, and take it to family dinner. When the sheriff sees it sitting there on the table, he can’t help but laugh.)

**Author's Note:**

> I think the item in the tumblr post was something different, but I was having fun doing my own take. 
> 
> Feel free to come by and prompt me/talk to me [ on tumblr](http://dragon-temeraire.tumblr.com/).


End file.
